DIGITAL STORYTELLING AS A CREATIVE WORKPLACE WELLNESS INTERVENTION: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR TEACHER STRESS MANAGEMENT

Contemporary workplaces are increasingly shaped by rapid technological transformation, intensified performance accountability, and heightened emotional demands. Within the education sector, these dynamics have significantly amplified occupational stress, emotional exhaustion, and burnout among teachers, posing serious challenges to individual well-being, instructional quality, and institutional sustainability. Despite growing awareness of workplace mental health, many existing wellness initiatives remain fragmented, individualistic, and detached from the lived experiences of educators.

This conceptual paper proposes Digital Storytelling (DST) as an innovative, creative, and participatory workplace wellness intervention for teacher stress management. Drawing upon narrative psychology, constructivist learning theory, narrative therapy, and organizational wellness literature, the paper develops a conceptual framework illustrating how digital storytelling can function as a holistic stress-management tool. Through structured narrative creation and sharing, DST enables emotional externalization, cognitive reframing of stressors, peer empathy, technological empowerment, and collective meaning-making.

The paper argues that DST moves beyond deficit-oriented wellness models by recognizing stress as a relational and organizational phenomenon rather than solely an individual problem. By integrating creativity, reflection, and digital literacy, DST offers a scalable, cost-effective, and culturally adaptable approach for fostering psychological well-being and resilient organizational cultures in educational institutions. The paper concludes by outlining implications for policy, leadership, institutional practice, and future research, emphasizing the role of creative narrative-based interventions in promoting humane and sustainable workplaces.